


Heat of the Moment

by MithrilWren



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Ficlet, First Kiss, M/M, Post Episode 91, sometimes creating a new spell together can be something so romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:07:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22293805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MithrilWren/pseuds/MithrilWren
Summary: So apparently, Caleb gets a bit more touchy feely when he's excited.
Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 28
Kudos: 412





	Heat of the Moment

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little AU where Nott went with the others to get supplies while Essek and Caleb worked on the spell. Not nearly as good as the tag team act we got on the show (I am SO happy Nott was an equal participant in the actual canon) but this allows for Other Things to happen :)

Essek can sense it - the moment it all comes together. It buzzes on the air, the realization that hits them both at once, and he and Caleb make a break for the same pen as they both furiously scramble to jot down the solution before it vanishes again. Caleb reaches it first, which Essek might have begrudged under any other circumstances , but as he stands back and watches the quill set fire to paper under Caleb’s white-knuckled grip, he can’t help but be glad. This is for Caleb’s friend, after all. He deserves the triumph of saving her. 

Caleb holds the paper up to the light, so they both can see the twisting lines of the equation - glyphs mingled with diagrams mingled with scattered words and arrows and  _ there.  _ The missing piece. Caleb’s final addition, in a scrawl so unlike the neat script Essek has seen in their time studying together.

“This is it,” Caleb breathes. “The solution. We did it.” He puts the paper down in the center of the others - sheafs and sheafs of scrap, all leading to this. Leading to  _ the answer,  _ at long last.

“ _ You _ did-” Essek starts, but he doesn’t get the chance to finish before Caleb is throwing his arms around him. Caleb’s hands coming up to cup his chin, his face  _ (his skin, beneath Caleb’s fingers, beneath-) _ and Caleb’s smile is wide and joyous and  _ unreserved _ and his eyes are shining with excitement and emotion and-

He leans in and presses his lips to Essek’s.

The kiss lasts only a second, or five, or ten. Time slows around them, though no spell’s been cast, as Essek stands frozen in place, arms locked at his sides, and Caleb is-

-pulling away, and Essek staggers as he goes, forgetting that he’s on solid ground and not hovering above it. Caleb catches him by the small of his back, a steadying hand to keep him from falling.

Essek presses two fingers to his burning lips, staring at Caleb and so…  _ confused.  _ Yes, confused is the word for the emotion pounding in his chest.  _ Confused.  _ That must be it, surely.

He knows what a kiss is, of course. What the act signifies, only it all seemed rather… abstract, before now. He’s never been kissed before.

He hasn’t really touched  _ anyone,  _ in a while.

Essek watches as the radiant smile tilts, and the hand leaves Essek’s back as the shock of what Caleb just did seems to register with him as well. 

“Ah,” says Essek. His fingers move from his lips to his neck, then back to his side, where they remain as still as he can will them to be. “I-”

Caleb’s complexion is swiftly blooming to match his hair, a flushed shade of red gathering in his cheeks as his eyes grow impossibly wide. 

**_We’re here let us in Essek we brought SO MUCH STUFF TO SHOW YOU_ **

Jester’s voice pierces like a lance into his mind, and he blinks, not knowing how to respond. Not knowing how to  _ speak,  _ honestly. 

Does Caleb want- Does  _ he  _ want-

His lips are still burning.

“The others are here,” Essek says weakly, and then, like a coward, he runs down the stairs to let them in. Caleb follows behind, his flush still radiating heat over them both, and Essek swallows, grateful the dusky shade of his own embarrassment is less noticeable in the dim light.

At least, he  _ hopes. _

\---

“So,” Jester says, a toothpick of cheese halfway to her mouth, “what did  _ you _ guys do today?”

“We finished,” Essek says, glancing at Caleb with a soft smile. Yes, he’s back in control. Composure restored. He can do this. Be normal around the man, even after he- after  _ they- _

He can  _ do this.  _ And think about what it all means later.

(His lips are  _ still burning.) _

Then Essek looks back at Jester, and sees how her eyebrows are waggling their way towards her hairline. “Oh, you  _ finished,  _ huh?” She winks at Caleb, who promptly splutters into his mug of coffee.

Essek chokes on a pickle spear.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me at [mithrilwren](https://mithrilwren.tumblr.com) on Tumblr!


End file.
